A TV show in Japan has managed to do what many world-class footballers and teams have failed over the last few seasons - thwart World Player of the Year Lionel Messi on a footy pitch.

Admittedly, it has taken a dedicated robot goalkeeper to do so, one with lightning reactions, but it only goes to show that the Barcelona ace is human after all.

What's actually going on in the TV show is anybody's guess (if you know the show, or speak Japanese, please let us know in the comments below), but we do recognise the format of a penalty shoot-out. In a best of three scenario, Messi is beaten, with the goalie going the right way each time. You'll have to watch the - admittedly long - clip to find out how he gets on later.

It uses two tracking cameras housed in the surrounding frame, each capable of capturing video at 90 frames per second. These map a 3D picture of the ball and what direction it is travelling in, based on angle, velocity and spin. A computer then feeds that information to the goalkeeper, which moves to intercept. It is ridiculously hard to fool the computer, so there are few ways to get past it.

Our senior ed of news and features has been a tech and games journalist for more than 27 years, and has been with Pocket-lint for over five. Rik has edited a number of videogame magazines in the past, was deputy editor of Home Cinema Choice, and his TV career included stints as co-presenter of Channel 4's Gamesmaster and Sky One’s Games World.